298 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol,. VI, 



Styringomyia ceylonica, Edwards. 



Redescription. 



cf ? . Base of Himalayas and Bengal. Long. 3 — 6 mm. 



Head, and the rather short, blunt proboscis, yellowish; the 

 wide frons bearing several strong long bristles. Eyes black, 

 almost contiguous below the head, for a short space. Antennae 

 yellowish, with somewhat sparse, moderately long hairs ; scape 

 brown, ist joint elongate, 2nd wider at tip; flagellum of fourteen 

 oval joints, narrowing in size towards tip. Palpi yellowish, with 

 some hairs, 4-jointed, each of about the same length, the ist 

 rather the shortest, the 4th slightly the longest, with a blackish 

 tip which is sometimes bent at a right angle ; 2nd broadest, and 

 widening towards tip, which is black. 



Thorax. — Neck moderately long, with strong black bristles on 

 upper side. Thorax brownish on upper half, yellowish below, with 

 two irregular rows of short bristles, separated by a rather wide 

 median space. Some bristles on the sides, and a long one on each 

 posterior callus and two in each humeral region. Scutellum and 

 metanotum brown, bare. 



Abdomen about three times as long as the thorax, linear, consist- 

 ing of the usual short basal segment, and six other longer ones of about 

 equal length , moderately pubescent. Variable in colour ; in & mainly 

 dirty yellow with posterior borders of segments a little blackish, or 

 with an indistinct dorsal stripe ; in 9 dark brown. Genital organs in 

 (f prominent and highly complicated, consisting of two large (wider 

 than the terminal abdominal segment) basal segments, the 2nd pointed 

 above posteriorly. This latter segment bears a pair of large sub- 

 chitinous claspers of which the upper arm of each is bluntl}^ conical, 

 terminating in a black sharp elongated point ; the lower arm being 

 attenuated, elongated, nearly transparent, apparently flexible and 

 terminating in a very long black filamentous bristle. Below this upper 

 pair of large claspers is a second, much smaller pair, the upper 

 arm of each being bifid and stout, the lower arm longer, compara- 

 tively thin, and ending in a small expansion bearing four blunt 

 strong teeth J there being two small black spines at the middle of 

 this lower arm. Between this lower pair of claspers is a small 

 bristly organ, apparently the penis, and below all the organs is a 

 rather large ventral plate. 



In the 9 they are also large and complicated, consisting of 

 a pair of nearly perpendicular sheaths, terminating in filamentous 

 points, and enclosing two internal lamellae and two bristly fleshy 

 organs, the whole being supported below b)' a ventral plate which 

 possesses a small appendage towards the tip, below. In both sexes 

 the genital organs are conspicuous and large, generally concolorous 

 or a little lighter in colour than the abdomen. 



Legs mainly yellow, with black rings, pubescent. Coxae 

 rather strong, trochanters rather well developed, half as long as 

 coxae. Fore coxae with some strong bristles on upper side ; all coxae 

 with scattered short hairs. 



